The Finnish defence ministry notified the governments of France, Sweden, the UK and the USA that it would be seeking information on each nation’s fighter offerings, and at the time said it was seeking information on seven aircraft types from five manufacturers.
All five manufacturers have responded, namely Boeing, Dassault, Eurofighter, Lockheed Martin and Saab, with their respective F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, Rafale, Typhoon, F-35 and Gripen E aircraft.
Information on the Lockheed F-16 and Boeing F-15 has not been offered.

The Canadian government’s proposal to buy 18 Super Hornet aircraft as a stopgap measure before proceeding to a full competition for a new fighter jet is not only a waste of time and money but illegal, say political and industry critics of the plan.
Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan announced Nov. 22 that Canada would enter into negotiations with Boeing for the purchase of the 18 aircraft.
Sajjan noted the government had been forced to proceed with the urgent acquisition because a capability gap had emerged with the current fleet of CF-18 fighters.
Canada cannot meet its NORAD, NATO and other defense commitments with those aging aircraft, he added.
But Canada’s former procurement chief says the Super Hornet deal is illegal and can be challenged if Lockheed Martin or other aircraft firms wanted to do so.
Existing trade agreements allow for Canada to proceed with a purchase without competition if there is an urgent and unforeseeable need for goods and services required by the military, said Alan Williams, the former assistant deputy minister for materiel at Canada’s Department of National Defence.

Western fighter manufacturers can breathe a collective sigh of relief as 2016 draws to a close.
Although defence budgets in most parts of the world continue to be squeezed, a recent burst of procurement activity looks set to give a shot in the arm to a number of programmes that had appeared at risk of oblivion due to lack of orders.
And, as our new World Air Forces directory shows, the number of combat aircraft in use has increased year-on-year; albeit by a modest 87 units.

The Bulgarian ministry of defence has issued a request for proposals to the potential suppliers of a new fighter for the air force.
The RFP was presented to four countries on 9 December, namely Italy, Portugal, the USA and Sweden, which have until March 2017 to submit their bids.----- ----- ----- ----- -----Italy’s proposal will comprise used Tranche 1 Eurofighter Typhoons taken from the existing Italian air force inventory.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has so far exported 40 Kfir Block 60 upgraded fighter aircraft, and plans to assemble and upgrade another 12-14 for Argentina.
Sources say negotiations about the proposed sale to Argentina are about to resume, following two previous rounds of talks that did not result in a contract.

China has taken delivery of the Sukhoi Su-35 “Flanker-E” fighter jet from Russia, according to Chinese state media.
The Chinese military confirmed that it took delivery of four Su-35s in late December, the English-language China Daily newspaper reported without providing further details.

Polish Defence Minister Antoni Macierewicz has announced the government may purchase used F-16 fighter jets for the Polish Air Force from the United States.
“We are considering to strengthen the capacities of our aircraft fleet and, to be exact, our F-16s,” Macierewicz said Jan. 18 at a joint news conference with Prime Minister Beata Szydlo and Interior Minister Mariusz Blaszczak.
“This issue is currently under analysis.”

Canada is hoping to receive the first of its Super Hornet fighter jets by 2019 but still has to hammer out a price as well as industrial benefits, according to Canadian government officials.
Procurement Minister Judy Foote, of the Liberal Party, said negotiations are underway with the US government and Boeing for 18 Super Hornets, but details still have to be worked out.
“We’re looking to get the best deal that we possibly can, looking at price, looking at capability, looking at economic benefits,” Foote, whose department is overseeing the purchase, told the House of Commons on Jan. 31.

Production of the Dassault Rafale could continue well into the latter half of the next decade as the French manufacturer looks to add to the 110 aircraft already in its backlog.
It is already holding discussions with the Paris government about a fifth order tranche, designed to allow France to field an eventual 225-strong fleet of Rafales, says Dassault chief executive Eric Trappier.
Between them, the French air force and navy have so far received 148 aircraft, with deliveries of the remaining 32 now slowing to a trickle.
Dassault handed over six examples of the multirole fighter to its domestic customer last year and plans to deliver a solitary aircraft to the air force in 2017.
Three Rafales will follow in 2018, but then none in either 2019 or 2020, before deliveries restart in 2021.

Canada has taken the next step in its pursuit of an interim fleet of Boeing F/A-18 Super Hornets with a letter of request to the US government this week.
On 13 March, the Canadian government sent the letter outlining capabilities, schedule and economic benefit requirements for the interim acquisition of 18 Super Hornets.
Canada expects a response from the US as early as this fall, a 14 March government press release states (*).

Denmark’s Office of Attorney General is expected to unveil a formal legal defense position in April or May in response to a lawsuit filed by Boeing that essentially questions the fairness and transparency of Denmark’s fighter selection process.
Boeing wants access to selection process documents pertaining to Denmark’s next-generation fighter competition.

Bulgaria’s defence ministry announced on 13 March that it had opened three proposals to equip the nation’s air force with modern fighters.
These were submitted by the Swedish government, offering newly produced Saab Gripen C/Ds; the US and Portuguese governments, jointly offering ex-US Air Force Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs to be upgraded to the mid-life update standard by Ogma; and an Italian bid using second-hand Tranche 1-standard Eurofighter Typhoons.

Taiwan is planning to upgrade its F-16 fighter jets and will seek cutting-edge stealth aircraft from the United States in the face of a growing military threat from rival China, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.----- ----- ----- ----- -----
Without giving details, the report said Taiwan would also seek fighters able to take off vertically, more surface-to-air missiles and a revitalized Navy deploying domestically made submarines and fast-attack craft.

The government has made an important decision to replace the F-16s.
On the recommendation of the Minister of Defense Steven Vandeput, it was agreed to launch an acquisition program.
The 54 F-16s now in service will be replaced by 34 new multi-role combat aircraft.
This number guarantees the level of ambition mentioned in the Strategic Vision for Defence, namely: on a permanent basis, six combat aircraft are available for operations and two more to protect our air space (Quick Reaction Alert).
Fewer aircraft are needed than before because the new generation of aircraft can fly more and there can be more training on simulators.

Kuala Lumpur appears to be sending mixed signals about the status of its multi-role combat aircraft (MRCA) acquisition to replace its Mikoyan MiG-29s with 18 modern fighters.
This year’s Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA) saw three major European manufacturers campaign at the show: Dassault, BAE Systems, and Saab.

The French government is making a last-ditch effort with industrial and credit inducements to get Malaysia to order Dassault Rafales ahead of a planned visit by its president next week to the Southeast Asian nation.--- --- ---
The French government is hoping that the centerpiece of the visit will be signing a contract for Rafales, if their delivery and payment is made after 2020.
A Malaysian defense ministry official told Aerospace Daily that France had offered generous offsets and financing to facilitate a purchase of 18 aircraft.

France’s defence ministry has launched development work on the next production standard of the Dassault Rafale, designed to deliver aircraft built to the enhanced F4 level from 2025.
In addition, Paris is considering placing a fresh order for the multirole type under an agreement for a fifth tranche of aircraft.
Although light on specifics, the defence ministry says the F4 upgrade will be driven by operational feedback and will include improvements to the Rafale’s networking capabilities and sensors.

Poland has ruled out purchasing second-hand Lockheed Martin F-16A/Bs to expand its air force, citing excessive modernisation costs.
“We are not going to buy used older versions of the F-16,” deputy minister for national defence Bartosz Kownacki told a parliamentary committee examining the modernisation of the country’s armed forces on 22 March.

The Polish Ministry of Defence is considering the purchase of new F-35 Lightning II fighters or a newer version of the F-16 jets to upgrade the country’s Air Force, according to Polish Deputy Defence Minister Bartosz Kownacki.
Kownacki told members of the Polish parliamentary defense committee that an earlier plan to acquire used F-16A/B aircraft from an ally was scrapped because of the substantial costs that would be related to upgrading the fighter jets.

Boeing will not compete its F/A-18 Super Hornet to replace Belgium’s fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16s, the company informed the nation's government this week.
In a statement, the airframer says it will not participate in a 19 April bidders' conference, nor respond to Brussels' request for proposals for the new fighter.

Bulgaria's government has announced the Saab Gripen C/D as the preferred candidate in the country’s new combat aircraft competition.
Sofia late last year issued a request for proposals for the purchase of eight multirole fighters, to be delivered by 2020.
Another eight of the selected type would be contracted in 2022 under current plans.

Canadian politicians have recommended that the country cancel its proposed acquisition of 18 Boeing F/A-18E/F Super Hornets, describing the plan as a "political decision" that fails to serve either the air force or taxpayers.
In November 2016 Ottawa signalled its intention to buy the Super Hornets as an interim measure while it carried out a competition to decide on a long-term replacement for its aged fleet of CF-188s.
It had previously planned to buy 65 Lockheed Martin F-35s for the Royal Canadian Air Force, but backed away from the Joint Strike Fighter last year on cost grounds.
But a Canadian senate committee on defence believes that the country should walk away from the stopgap measure.

Finland is continuing to analyse responses to a request for information it issued last year as part of the HX programme to replace its air force’s fleet of Boeing F/A-18C/D Hornets.
It anticipates beginning the formal selection process in early 2018, when it will send a request for quotation (RFQ) to five manufacturers.
These are Boeing, BAE Systems (representing Eurofighter), Dassault, Lockheed Martin and Saab, for their respective F/A-18E/F, Typhoon, Rafale, F-35 and Gripen E.
Lauri Puranen, HX project manager at the Finnish defence ministry, says it will not be overly prescriptive in its specifications, allowing bidders to propose a range of solutions – both manned and unmanned – to meet a number of key scenarios.

Canadian defence Minister Harjit Sajjan sent Boeing a stern rebuke this week after the company prompted a US investigation into Bombardier.
After Boeing accused Bombardier of dumping its CSeries jet onto the US market, the US Department of Commerce launched an investigation to determine if the company received unfair subsidies from the Canadian government.
That provoked Canadian Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland to threaten a review of Canada’s procurement of the 18 Super Hornets to fill an interim need.

The ..... announcement comes as the Defence Ministry is developing its procurement plan for the years 2017 to 2026.
Ministry officials have said that Warsaw might purchase two squadrons of F-35 Lightning II jets, consisting of a total of 32 aircraft.
The planned procurement of fifth-generation fighters was also included in the ministry’s "Concept of Defence of the Republic of Poland," a strategic document released May 23.